Conflict · F-35 crash · ArchiveF-35 Fighter Jet Crashes at Miramar, Pilot Ejects Safely, Cause UnknownAired August 1, 2026 at 7:54 AM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00An F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter0:02crashed at Marine Corps Air Station0:03Miramar near San Diego around 10:00 this0:05morning, destroying the multi-million0:07dollar aircraft, but with the pilot0:09safely ejecting. NBC News senior0:11national security correspondent Courtney0:13Kube reports video from the scene shows0:16the aircraft absolutely destroyed.0:18Firefighters extinguished what was0:20initially a massive fire. Around 10:000:22this morning, the F-35 went down on the0:24air station, possibly during takeoff or0:26landing. The pilot ejected and was0:29recovered within minutes, and emergency0:31crews quickly contained and extinguished0:33the fire that followed. The Marine Corps0:35spokesperson says the pilot is now0:37receiving medical attention while the0:38investigation into what caused the crash0:40begins. At this hour, the cause of the0:42crash remains unknown. No official0:44investigation findings have been0:46released, and the Marine Corps has not0:47disclosed what might have led to the0:49loss of the stealth fighter.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗